Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 6: It's your choice to fight the weakest one, the elephant against the minister, and the general against the commander. So what if I want to fight the weakest one?
So, judging from the shape of this chessboard, does it mean a 1v1 duel between the two chefs?

[I don't seem to see the Cantonese dialect here. Are we, the Cantonese speakers, not worthy of the title?]

[Hilarious! Almost all the chefs here are skilled in Cantonese cuisine. If you give them Cantonese food, isn't that just sending the contestants to deliver it?]

[Where's my pressure cooker grandpa? How did they let this garbage Ice and Fire Chef in? You dare say this isn't a shady deal?]

I feel that the blind selection theme depends a lot on performance. The contestants are all too young and lack experience, so it's easy for them to mess up!

[Even chefs were once newcomers; what era are we living in that we're still relying on past experience? That's so outdated.]

Just as the comments section was speculating about the competition format, the contestants and chefs walked back down from the second floor to the first floor.

On both sides of the chessboard, with the Chu River and Han Border as the central axis, a platform is raised, and 16 chairs are placed on each platform.

The production team, in a rather wicked way, labeled different social classes on the chairs with chess pieces.

The platform, from lowest to highest, consists of "Pawn", "Cannon", "Chariot", "Horse", "Elephant", "Advisor", and "General", clearly corresponding to the black pieces in Chinese chess.

The chef on the opposite side is represented by the corresponding red piece.

The moment they saw the platform, one of the male contestants spoke up.

"What does this mean? Are they holding a talent show to pick the center position? Are they afraid we'll fight each other?!"

On the other side, a girl who looked very sweet also spoke up.

"Who would dare sit in the general's seat? If it turns into soldiers fighting soldiers and generals fighting generals, wouldn't it explode?"

An older woman who seemed very ordinary managed to smooth things over.

"Maybe it's not the rule that's followed."

A handsome young man shook his head.

"No matter what rules they follow, these chairs are going to be hard to divide!"

While the 16 contestants looked at each other in bewilderment, the chefs on the opposite table were having a great time.

No matter what circle you're in, there are always stratifications based on experience and status, and chefs are no exception.

The 16 chefs have a wide age range; some are clearly in their prime, while others could be the grandfathers of the contestants on the other side.

Since they're all from the same circle, politeness is inevitable, so their seating arrangements are much easier than those of the contestants.

Finally, Shuai Xiaojian, who is also a gourmet and chef, sat in the "handsome" seat.

The chefs were arranged in order of seniority, with the four youngest chefs, Yang Yanbin, Wang Bing, Tian Zeyu, and Zhang Jian, sitting in the "soldier" positions.

Among the soldiers was a foreign chef named "Mucas," whose Chinese name is "迈卡斯" (Maikasi).

He is a former head chef of the "Michelin Paris", specializing in French cuisine, emphasizing exquisite plating and rich, harmonious flavors. I heard that he came to China because of his girlfriend and has now settled down, working as a head chef in Beijing for 6 years.

After the chefs were seated, the contestants still couldn't decide who was better.

Xia Ming looked at the group of ambitious guys, all wearing polite smiles and deferring to each other, and found it a bit ridiculous.

"If they really don't care as much as they say, why don't they let others sit down?"

He didn't care about the ranking at the moment. After all, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Before the competition rules were revealed, it was best to let others try it out first.

Thinking of this, he didn't hesitate and stepped directly towards the platform.

Seeing his expression, the others stopped arguing. They were eager to know which position this "Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef" contestant, who had barely passed the cutoff, would choose.

On the other side, since Xia Ming was the first to volunteer to go on stage, the camera naturally focused on him, and the comments section was already speculating about which position Xia Ming would choose. [Judging from his arrogant attitude before, he probably wants to sit in the general's seat!]

[Damn, cutting your hand while cooking and still wanting to be a big shot? Are you out of your mind? Don't you even look at yourself in the mirror and see if you're even qualified?]

[The young man is quite handsome, but a bit arrogant. He just criticized Brother Feng. If Brother Feng didn't have a good temper, he would have overturned the table for him.]

[Yes, having a barbecue chef mixed in with this group of chefs lowers the quality of the show.]

Because the live stream screen was occupied for a short time, Xia Ming couldn't see the comments.

Judging from the previous situation, the comments section is unlikely to hold back against him right now, but he doesn't care.

Stretching, Xia Ming walked straight to the top without looking back, startling the guests and contestants below.

"He really wants to become a general? He's desperate for fame!"

"Don't you want to be famous? What are you doing here? Is the restaurant not doing well?"

"I just think it's too arrogant. Leaving aside the 'Old Man with the Kitchen' who's over seventy, even the fifty-something 'I'm Not a Queen' next to him is far more experienced!"

"That's right."

Just as the contestants were whispering among themselves, the "bald cook" on the side finally couldn't take it anymore.

"You're all all talk and no action. If cooking really is about seniority, then what's the point of having judges? Just rank them by age!"

"What kind of heroes are they who don't think about making good meals but instead chirp crickets in the background!"

Upon hearing the "bald cook's" words, the chefs who had been discussing in a small circle dispersed, but two of the boys were extremely unconvinced by him.

"A person who was pulled out of the water is talking like he's some kind of amazing expert."

"Exactly, if the other players had performed better, there wouldn't be any pending issues."

Upon hearing the boy's words, the "bald cook" also showed a fierce expression. He knew that he was on the waiting list and would definitely be criticized, but he did not think that there was a major flaw in his cooking skills.

More often than not, it's a matter of not properly analyzing the judges' preferences.
Just as the crowd below was buzzing with discussion, Xia Ming stood on the high platform and looked across at the other side.

Since the chef opposite was already seated, the large screen behind him displayed the chef's basic information in a pyramid shape.

Looking at the description above, Xia Ming was frantically analyzing it in his mind.

First, his goal is to find someone who is bad at cooking, and second, someone who follows the rules. If someone is both bad at cooking and follows the rules, that would be even better.

After all, the competition format is 32 to 16. As long as the production team isn't brain-dead, they will definitely find a way to balance the situation on both sides.

In this situation, some people will inevitably be sacrificed, while others will definitely be guaranteed a spot in the next round.

Because the competition between chefs and contestants is inherently an unfair contest, there's nothing to brag about if the chef wins, but it's a completely different story if the contestant wins.

In competitions, the one who stays until the end is the winner!
Just like now, he directly ruled out "Shuai Xiaojian" and "Zeng Huaijun" because one is a "Shuai" and the other is a "Shi" (soldier), which are obviously senior positions.

As he walked down the stairs, his gaze settled on the only foreigner in the room.

"Outsider, from the Beijing area, specializing in refined Chinese-French fusion cuisine, only been in China for a few years. Okay, you're the one!"

His idea was that since these players liked to fight for positions so much, then let them fight for them.

"Your choice is to face the weakest opponent if you want to advance.

After saying that, Xia Ming smiled slightly, stepped down from the platform without looking back, then pulled over the lowest chair marked "Pawn" that corresponded to "Micas" and sat down with a thud.

(End of this chapter)